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What the Draft Can Say About a New Contract for Keenan Allen
Analysis: The future for Keenan Allen in Chicago appears to be masked by uncertainty over what will be done in the draft.
There's something masked with Keenan Allen's signing and it has nothing to do with the fact he has a golden voice and once appeared on the TV show "The Masked Singer."
"My first time singing in front of an audience, judges and stuff like that," Allen said, when he came to Chicago after signing in free agency. "So it was a challenge but it was good."
This mask involves his contract situation and how it involves or is affected by the Bears draft/salary cap situation.
Asked about continuing to play past 2024, Allen would divulge nothing.
"We're just kind of taking it one day at a time," Allen said. "Got one year left and we'll see what happens."
Expect the Bears to do the same and not rush into any sort of contract extension.
First, they'll want to see what Allen has left in the tank at 32 years old this season, and how he meshes with their offense as well as their new quarterback, presumably Caleb Williams.
Second, if things don't quite go the way the Bears would like this year because they will be using a rookie quarterback, then they could always trade Allen before the trade deadline and recoup the fourth-round pick they gave up for him or get some of that back.
Beyond this, there was the way Williams left Los Angeles and what he's playing for in 2024. It wasn't exactly a friendly departure when he wouldn't take a pay cut. He counts $23.1 million against the Bears cap, according to Spotrac.com and it's $7 million more than DJ Moore.
Players usually don't start negotiations with "how much less can I take in the future," so it can't be presumed he's going to be asking the Bears for a contract less than it's worth in 2024. When Moore would be due a new contract before the end of 2025, it's difficult to see the Bears rushing into a big contract for an older veteran receiver on the roster.
Then there is the draft and who the Bears can bring to Halas Hall. This can bring great clarity to the situation.
Many first-round draft projections foresee them selecting Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze. It looks likely they'll have an option of a top three receiver and/or a top pass rusher from this class. Maybe LSU's Malik Nabers would fall, but after 4.35 in the 40-yard dash and a 42-inch leap at his pro day this seems unlikely.
It might even be Marvin Harrison Jr. dropping to them, considering some predictions about how he'll be this year's Jalen Carter, the defensive tackle who dropped last year after a series of unfortunate events. Except, all he did was refuse to work out at a pro day or the combine and that has nothing to do with talents displayed over his Ohio State career.
Either way, whoever the receiver they can take is, if they do it then speculation will build about a one-and-done for Allen in Chicago.
A top rookie receiver would have one season to learn to fit in and then Allen can be on his merry way collecting big checks over the final years of his NFL career from other team(s). Players need to take advantage of every opportunity they have at the end of careers for the big checks and he might still be worth a one-year investment for a contender needing another top receiver.
The Bears, though, would be all about the future with a young, improving team and a rookie quarterback this year.
This could apply beyond the top three receivers in the draft, because of the depth of talent at the position.
The Bears could trade back in Round 1, take a pass rusher and acquire a pick somewhere in Round 2. Then they'd be poised to add a receiver later. It could be Round 3 even. Jerry Rice's son Brenden, Williams' USC teammate, is projected as a Round 3 type.
It's a deep receiver group and players who could eventually be the No. 2 Bears receiver going forward might be lurking at the 75th pick.
So, nothing can be presumed about Allen and his future in Chicago beyond GM Ryan Poles did something rarely done in the past by bringing a top wide receiver talent to Chicago to help out a rookie QB rather than bringing one here "to die," as Muhsin Muhammad once said of the Bears.
The future is promised to no one, as Walter Payton reminded after losing the 1984 NFC championship game.
It was true then and is now, even for well-established pass catchers in a city where wide receivers now seem to go if they want to thrive.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
